"Damn"

Astralwerks

Artists:

"I don't care about anyone else/ I don't care about anyone else/ I know." We've been down this road with Worcester's bright-eyed miscreants Dom before; on "Burn Bridges", a highlight from their debut EP Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, the band's frontman preached a culture of sincere selfishness, offering bird-flipping advice to "Forgive 'em/ And forget 'em." So when the same guy sings this paragraph's opening salvo on "Damn", the first taste from Dom's forthcoming Family of Love EP, it's unsurprising-- anyone following the digital paper trail of interviewsandquotables that pour out of this guy knows that he's one for attracting attention to himself.

It's the same sort of chest-beating, self-loathing solipsism that Wavves' fellow long-haired guitar-wielder Nathan Williams wore like gold chains on last year's King of the Beach; instead of bratty pop-punk injections, however, on "Damn" we're treated to sheets of sugary guitar lines wrapping themselves around each other like candy ribbons. The fidelity's improved thanks to some major-label studio time, but nothing about "Damn" sounds polished or labored over. Instead, this stuff flows effortlessly, smacking the spigot closed just under the three-minute mark. Almost despite themselves, Dom continue to turn on instantly earwormy treats, cut with just enough bile to prevent diabetic shock.